Bayer Leverkusen scored from a corner kick early in the second half of their Champions League Round of 16 first leg against Arsenal to take a 1-0 lead.
Robert Andrich’s controversial goal in the 46th minute added further irony to an already high-stakes match at BayArena.
The deadlock was broken just seconds after the restart, with Alejandro Grimaldo firing a powerful shot into the center of Arsenal’s box.
Andrich, who narrowly avoided a red card in the first half, shocked the ‘set-piece experts’ by rising highest and scoring a header past David Raya.
Leverkusen manager heads straight to set-piece manager at Arsenal
In a moment of pure sporting drama, Bayer Leverkusen manager Kasper Hürmand sprinted towards Arsenal’s technical area immediately after the goal.
According to TNT Sports, Yurmand went directly to Arsenal’s famous set-piece coach Nicolas Jobar to congratulate him.
The exchange seemed to point to pregame tension between the two sides.
In the run-up to the match, Yurmand questioned the legality of Jover’s blocking tactics, suggesting Arsenal were often pushing the limits of the rules.
Leverkusen’s defeat of Arsenal by scoring from a corner in their own game was clearly a moment of great irony that Hilmand couldn’t help but highlight.
Bayer Leverkusen’s ‘No corners’ mind game
Ahead of the match, Leverkusen installed “no corners” warning signs around the corner arcs at BayArena, leaning into the narrative of set-piece merchants surrounding Mikel Arteta’s team.
The sign, which features a red slash on the corner flag, was shared on social media with the caption: “It’s worth a try.”
Although many saw it as a harmless joke, the tactical preparation behind it was clear as Leverkusen neutralized Arsenal’s main threat throughout the first half.
Leverkusen scored from a corner kick themselves, not only leveling the score and taking the lead, but also dealing a huge psychological blow to Jover and Arteta.
With the game still on, Arsenal face the challenge of proving they can find solutions in open play against a Leverkusen side who appeared to have solved the set-piece puzzle.
